Indonesia prepares for 2024 election: Who are the candidates?

Campaigns under way as world's most populous Muslim-majority country votes in February to find successor to Joko Widodo

Indonesian presidential candidates, from left, Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo Subianto and Anies Baswedan, after the first presidential election debate in Jakarta in December. AFP

Indonesians are preparing for a crucial election year in which they will elect a new president.

Campaigns have already begun ahead of the poll on February 14.

More than 200 million people are eligible to vote in the world's third-largest democracy, which has a population of nearly 280 million.

The country has held elections every five years since its transition to democracy in 1998.

Current President Joko Widodo has been in power since 2014, winning a second term in 2019. In both cases, he defeated challenger Prabowo Subianto, who is running again this year.

Mr Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, is a popular figure and the first Indonesian leader to come from outside the country's elite.

Under Indonesia's constitution, Mr Widodo is barred from seeking a third term.

Here is everything you need to know about the candidates competing to succeed him.

Prabowo Subianto

Defence Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto commands a huge following, despite allegations of human rights violations. AFP

The former special forces commander is making a third run at the presidency, having lost to Mr Widodo in 2014 and 2019.

Mr Subianto, 72, comes from an elite family and commands a huge following, despite allegations of human rights violations over the kidnapping of democracy activists during turmoil in the late 1990s and alleged abuses in East Timor. He has denied wrongdoing.

He is also a former son-in-law of late strongman president Suharto.

In previous elections, Mr Subianto forged alliances with conservative Islamic groups and political parties criticised for stoking communal tensions and creating rifts in the secular, pluralistic country.

After Mr Subianto lost the 2019 election, Mr Widodo appointed him as Defence Minister – a move analysts say helped heal divisions. Mr Widodo has tacitly backed Mr Subianto.

Mr Subianto chairs the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party, which endorsed him as its presidential candidate last year.

Running mate: Gibran Rakabuming Raka

Gibran Rakabuming Raka is Mr Widodo's eldest child, who has served as Surakarta mayor since 2020 – a position once held by his father.

In late October, Mr Subianto named Mr Raka, 36, as running mate, after the country's Constitutional Court ruled a minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates need not apply in all cases.

Ganjar Pranowo

Presidential candidate and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo has gained huge support from ordinary Indonesians as an outsider. AFP

The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has pinned its hopes on Ganjar Pranowo, a former governor of Central Java, one of the country's most populous provinces. He has been a close second behind Mr Subianto in recent opinion polls.

Like Mr Widodo, who comes from humble beginnings, 55-year-old Mr Pranowo, a former lawmaker, has gained huge support among ordinary Indonesians as a leader from outside of the political and military elite.

Mr Pranowo, who initially appeared to be backed by Mr Widodo, hopes his popularity on social media and with young voters will bring him victory.

He had topped many opinion polls earlier this year until he backed a call to stop Israel taking part in the under-20 football World Cup, for which Indonesia was subsequently dropped as host. Surveys published in December show fading prospects.

Running mate: Mahfud MD

Indonesia's widely respected Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs brings integrity to Mr Pranowo's ticket and the possibility of crucial votes from the influential Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic organisation.

Mahfud MD, whose real name is Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin, is a former Constitutional Court judge who has taken a stand against corruption, including within security agencies and was outspoken over high-profile police corruption cases and attempts to change the constitution to extend presidential terms.

Anies Baswedan

Presidential candidate and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan was praised for his Covid-19 response, but criticised for flood handling. AFP

Hugely popular from 2017 to 2022 as governor of Jakarta – a position once held by Mr Widodo and considered a springboard to the presidency – academic and politician Anies Baswedan has trailed rivals but a December poll showed him overtaking Mr Pranowo for the first time.

Mr Baswedan, 54, was praised for his Covid-19 response but criticised for his handling of recurrent flooding in the sprawling, congested capital.

He is not a member of a political party but is backed by three parties, including a secular party in the ruling coalition and the conservative Islamic Prosperous Justice Party.

His rise in 2017 was controversial as he accepted the endorsement of hardline Islamist groups that had agitated against his opponent and then-Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – an ethnic Chinese Christian – who was later jailed for insulting Islam.

Mr Baswedan, who espouses moderate Islam, was accused of doing little to mend widening religious and communal rifts. He has rejected these claims.

Running mate: Muhaimin Iskandar

Better known as Cak Imin, the 57-year-old is head of the National Awakening Party and has served as deputy speaker of the People's Representative Council since 2019 and labour minister from 2009 until 2014.

He is relative of the late Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur, a well-respected president and religious leader. Mr Iskandar has strong networks within the Nahdlatul Ulama and is expected to draw votes from his base in East Java.